The defending champions have a problem. Just months after celebrating a title, the New York Liberty look nothing like the team that dominated early in the 2025 season with a franchise-best 9-0 start. Now, with the playoffs breathing down their necks, Breanna Stewart is saying what everyone’s thinking: this isn’t championship basketball anymore.
Breanna Stewart Sounds the Alarm Over Liberty’s Inconsistent Performance
Stewart didn’t mince words after their ugly 63-80 loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Aug. 30. The two-time WNBA Finals MVP looked around that locker room and saw a team that had lost its way. With just four games left in the regular season, she delivered a wake-up call that cut straight to the point.
“This is obviously a learning opportunity, but we’re kind of running out of opportunities for growth at this point. We need to just actually be better,” Stewart said. Her message was clear: the window for mistakes has slammed shut.
Breanna Stewart: “This is obviously a learning opportunity, but we’re kind of running out of opportunities for growth at this point. We need to just actually be better.”
— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) August 31, 2025
But Stewart wasn’t done. She doubled down with the kind of blunt assessment that only a franchise cornerstone can deliver. “This is not championship-level basketball at this point, and everybody needs to recognize that and understand that we need to get there. And that starts with the mindset, and then putting it onto the court,” she added.
“This is not championship-level basketball at this point and everybody needs to recognize that and understand that we need to get there and that starts with the mindset and then putting it onto the court.”
– Breanna Stewart after last night’s loss pic.twitter.com/c46cmjIp7m
— New York Liberty Videos (@SNYLiberty) August 31, 2025
The timing of Stewart’s words couldn’t be more critical. The Liberty sit fifth in the league at 24-16. They’ve already locked up a playoff spot, but that’s about the only positive spin you can put on their recent play. Three losses in their last five games have exposed cracks that weren’t visible during their hot start.
What’s Behind the Liberty’s Sudden Struggles?
Injuries have been the Liberty’s biggest enemy this season. Stewart herself missed 13 games after suffering a knee bone bruise, and while she returned on Aug. 25, the team is still trying to find its rhythm. The chemistry that championship teams need? It’s been nearly impossible to develop.
Consider this: Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu have shared the court together for just 13 games this season. That’s the Liberty’s big three, their championship core, and they’ve barely had time to mesh. Jones has battled illness, Ionescu has dealt with a toe, and Emma Meesseman has been forced to shoulder more of the scoring load than expected. Against Phoenix, Meesseman led the team with 17 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
The numbers tell the story of a team in decline. Before Stewart’s injury, New York’s defensive rating was a crisp 97.2. Since Jul. 26, it’s ballooned to 106.8, making them the fourth-worst defensive team in the league during that stretch.
Against the Mercury, their carelessness with the basketball was glaring. Nineteen turnovers led to 26 Phoenix points, while the Liberty managed just seven points off Mercury mistakes. That’s not the kind of math that wins playoff games, and Stewart knows it.
The inconsistency has been building since mid-June, eating away at the momentum they built during that electric start to the season. A 5-8 record since Stewart’s absence tells you everything you need to know. This isn’t the same Liberty team that looked unstoppable early in the campaign.
However, talent isn’t the question here. Stewart remains the team’s heartbeat and leader. Jones provides the interior presence they need when healthy. Ionescu’s eventual return could ignite their offense in ways they haven’t seen in weeks. But all the talent in the world won’t matter if they can’t lock in defensively, value every possession, and rediscover the championship mindset that got them here. Stewart’s message was clear: time’s running out to figure it out.
